Simplifying Motherhood + Making Money Blogging

Blogging Tools and Resources that Every Blogger Needs

I remember the first day that I asked Google “how can I make money blogging?”.

It was a long day of reading and researching, but it was also one of the best days of my life! Because I learned that building a successful blog is totally possible, and you don’t need a ton of money or experience to do it. I sifted through at least a hundred articles and watched a bunch of tutorials, trying to pull together the pieces of this massive puzzle.

It was a lot of work.

If you’re new to the blogging scene, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information being thrown your way (it’s a lot).

And if you’ve been around here for a while, it’s still a good idea to check yourself and your biz: make sure you’re both growing, making money, and staying sane.

So, I put together this massive list of blogging tools and resources that every blogger needs. From the day you start your blog, there are a few important things that you need to have in place; things like website hosting, a website theme, and some helpful plugins.

As you become a bit more seasoned, you’ll want to keep adding tools to your blogging kit, to help you grow, improve, automate, and enjoy your business and life!

I’ve got you covered!

* This post contains some affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to run this blog ad-free, and to publish helpful content for you every single week. I appreciate your support, and I know you’ll love these tools as much as I do!

BLOG SETUP AND DESIGN

Let’s start with the blogging basics. I highly recommend setting up your blog on a self-hosted website. A self-hosted website is the absolute best way to customize, monetize, and grow your blogging business.

HOSTING:

The website host I use and recommend is Siteground. They have the fastest servers and the lowest record of downtime, so you can be confident that your site will always be working. They also provide free SSL certificates and excellent customer service. You’ll get 65% off the regular price if you use my referral link above!

THEME:

After you purchase your hosting, you’ll need to download WordPress .org. This is the amazing and free software you will use to build and design your website. Download the free software, get familiar with the dashboard, and then choose a theme for your blog. This will be the visual aspect that people see when they come to your website. You can use a free theme or you can purchase one. Here are some sites that have beautiful themes for you to purchase and use for your own website:

Creative Market

Etsy

Hello You Designs

PLUGINS:

Plugins will help your site to run quickly, safely, and efficiently. These plugins are only for self-hosted WordPress .org websites, which is one of the many reasons I recommend taking this route for your blog. I don’t use a lot of plugins, just the essentials. These are the main ones that I use, although I’ll admit I’ve tested a few others over the past few years.

Yoast SEO – a must-have for optimizing blog content

Akismet – an essential spam comment blocker

Shareaholic – for your social media sharing buttons

Insert Headers and Footers – for inserting small pieces of code onto your site

Sumo – for a free and easy subscription box on your homepage

SG Optimizer – a Siteground plugin that will improve site speed and configure HTTPS

CREATING BLOG GRAPHICS

Yeah…that was a lot to cover just for blog setup and design, so don’t feel bad if you need to grab yourself a drink and take a breather before we move on to creating blog graphics. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve got a cold one in my hand right now…

I meant a cold soda, c’mon now guys!

Here are a few great blogging tools for those of you that will be creating your own graphics for your blog and social media posts.

They’re all great options, it just depends on your budget and preferences! I personally use PicMonkey and Canva, and that is only because I fear the learning curve of Photoshop…I’m probably overreacting, I know.

WRITING GREAT CONTENT

You already know how to write great content, we just need to make sure that you’re checking it for pesky little errors that got overlooked. And also that it’s being saved every 3.5 seconds so that you don’t lose any of your hard work. These are the tools I recommend:

LIKEITALL – to automatically like all images or links on a social share thread

BUILDING YOUR EMAIL LIST

Building an email list is a super important part of being a blogger. You need a way to contact your most loyal and engaged readers. You need a medium for regular contact with people that want to hear from you. And you also need a service that makes it easy to collect email addresses, contact subscribers, and automate an email series to connect with your readers regularly.

BLOGGING GROUPS

My free blogging group is an amazing community of supportive bloggers, and there are many others out there as well! Here are a few of my favorite blogging groups for you to join! They are extremely supportive and will help you stay on track with your blogging goals.

You can also go directly to Facebook Groups and click on the Discover button to search for groups in your own target market.

WORK-AT-HOME RESOURCES

It’s no secret that working from home takes hard work and discipline. I’ve been doing it for NINE YEARS, so believe me, I get it. And then you run the risk of getting ripped off by scammy Craigslist ads and cheap clients. It’s a risky road to say the least!

But trusted work-at-home resources make the whole process so much easier and safer. I found my first work-at-home job when I was 20 years old, and I stayed in that safety net for 7 years!

One of the greatest investments I have ever made was in the Ultimate Work-At-Home Bundle. This product bundle has literally EVERYTHING you could ever want or need when it comes to resources for working from home.

Here is a quick glimpse at a few of the products you get in the bundle:

With my link above, you get 97% off the regular price of this bundle. Yeah, for real.

You get 23 e-books, 1 audio book, 9 e-courses, and 4 printable packs for just $47. Everything in this bundle will help you to grow and monetize your online business, and balance the act of working from home.

I hope these resources are insanely helpful for you and your blog. These are the same tools that I use everyday in my business, and they have proven to be very beneficial for me and my success as a blogger.

BLOGGING COURSES

If you need help with blogging strategy, I’ve got you covered there too. Check out these blogging courses that will help you grow your blog and make money money.

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I'm a Lifestyle Blogger and mother of two living in sunny San Diego, California. My mission is to help mothers (and their families) live a beautifully simple life, choosing natural and intentional living instead of just existing. I promote hard work, family-friendly travel, sipping on whiskey, and striving for minimalism. If you can't find me here, you can find me on the beach!

Hey there! I'm Cate, the blogger and mama-of-two behind this site. I write about simple living, surviving motherhood, and making money blogging. My family and I work hard and play hard in San Diego, California. I love sunshine, iced coffee, and positive people. If you can't find me here, you can find me on the beach!